


Reconciliation III: The Seven Virtues

by Murasahki-chan (WearyMuse)



Series: Reconciliation [3]
Category: Rurouni Kenshin
Genre: Family, Father-Son Relationship, Gen, Humor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-13
Updated: 2020-08-13
Packaged: 2021-03-06 01:54:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,487
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25885411
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WearyMuse/pseuds/Murasahki-chan
Summary: Hiko still has a few things to teach Kenshin about being a good warrior (and a good student and good friend). Yahiko benefits.
Relationships: Hiko & Kenshin, Kenshin & Yahiko
Series: Reconciliation [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/818061
Kudos: 2





	Reconciliation III: The Seven Virtues

**Author's Note:**

> GLOSSARY: at end of work.

  
"Again, Yahiko. And keep the tip of your sword up—when it drops like that you don't have an effective guard. Ready, begin. _Ich! Ni! San!. . ."_

"If Yahiko were to simply close the little finger of his left hand he would have far better control of his _shinai's_ tip," Kenshin remarked idly. He and Hiko were sitting on the engawa watching Kaoru take her apprentice through the Kamiya Kasshin _kata_ in the courtyard..

Hiko eyed him with a tilted eyebrow.

"And why does he not know that, _baka deshi_?"

"I don't know why Kaoru has not pointed that out to him, _Shishou—_ Ow! What was that for?" the short redhead exclaimed as he rubbed his now smarting head from Hiko's smack.

"Seven Virtues, Ken-ch'en. What are they?"

"What? _Shishou_ , you taught me them, why. . ."

"The Seven Virtues, Kenshin," the big man barked again. "Recite them."

" _Hai, sense_ i," Kenshin replied automatically.

"One, Righteousness and Rectitude. Two, Respect. Three, Heroic courage. Four, Honor. Five, Compassion. Six, Honesty and Sincerity. Seven, Duty and Loyalty," he recited steadily.

"Ah, you do remember them all, even Compassion, which I thought you had forgotten. Not to mention Duty and Loyalty, but that's nothing new."

Kenshin was quiet for a moment.

"Master, in what way have I failed to exercise compassion? Or duty and loyalty? I thought you had . . .accepted. . .my choice to join the Chosuu rebels," he asked a little hesitantly. 

"Not to me, _baka_. To Yahiko."

" _Yahiko_? How. . .in what way do you think I have failed Yahiko?"

"How many times has Yahiko followed your direction to care for his home? To back up the sword princess when there was threat of an attack? And yet you can't even be troubled to do something so small as correct his sword swing? How well do you think he could guard himself against a street thug—or one of your enemies—when he can't even keep his _kissaki_ in position? Hmmph. And I had begun to think I succeeded in instilling some sense of honor in you.

"Ah. You do get it," Hiko went on as he watched Kenshin's expression morph from surprise to a sight embarrassment.

"Now think about how to rectify your behavior while I go grovel to the sword princess for my student's failure in his duties towards her pupil."

Kenshin spent a few moments in slight shock as he watched his master approach the practicing duo, and wait for Kaoru's recognition. Once she called " _Yame_ " to Yahiko, Hiko bowed very respectfully indeed, and began to speak earnestly to the small woman. 

Only snatches of their conversation drifted to Kenshin, but it was enough for him to follow the gist.

" _Shihandai_ Kamiya. . .Failed in two of the virtues. . .permission for my pupil to assist yours. . .basic technique. . .your approval," Hiko was saying.

"Hiko- _sama_. . .no fault is seen. . .you honor Kamiya Kasshin. . ."

"Yeah, who could tell what Ugly was doing wrong. . ." 

That was Yahiko, which earned him a bellowed "Yahiko!" from Kaoru, backed up by Hiko's "Respect your teacher!"

Kaoru went on quietly with "Pardon, Hiko- _sama_ , try. . .manners. . .student," and another bow to Hiko, to which he bowed in return and replied something about thoroughly understanding.

With a final nod from Kaoru and another bow from Hiko, the swordmaster started walking back toward Kenshin.

"Well, Ken-ch'en, I am happy to report the _shihandai_ has agreed to a path that will regain your honor. Do I need to explain in detail, or can you exercise your brain enough to deduce it?"

Kenshin eyed Hiko somewhat askance.

"You want me to to teach Yahiko?" he asked hesitantly. 

"No."

Kenshin looked a bit confused.

"No, shishou?"

"No, I want you to assist him as you would a dojo brother. 

"One is not quite sure what that would entail, _shishou_."

"Hmmf. Are you sure, deshi? Do your remember when we stayed at Nakahara-san's, and you were learning horsemanship with Heinai?"

Kenshin’s eyes went round.

“Oh. Oh, _hai_ , _shishou_ , I do remember.”

Kenshin found himself drifting back in memory to a hot, sticky summer day—or actually several of them—a rather sore nose, and being both frustrated and discouraged.

* * *

Kenshin’s nose met mane yet again. He was five lessons into trying to sit the trot with no success. He was beginning to think that he’d never be able to do anything but sleep facedown on a horse’s back.

  
“It’s alright, Kenshin, nobody learns to trot in just one lesson—or even five, sometimes—just like nobody has a perfect sword swing in one lesson. Just go around again—ah, Heinai, hold the lunge line, the mare’s got out of her pen again.”

Kenshin murmured a polite “Hai, sensei,” but it was obvious that he was discouraged.

  
“Come on, Kenshin, just relax for a couple rounds of walk,” his co-student Heinai called to him, waving a hand at the patient flea-bitten gray Kenshin was riding. “Walk up, Cloud, good boy.”

  
As the patient gray swung into a nice, rhythmic walk, Heinai did his best to bolster Kenshin’s spirits.

“Let’s go through position check again, Kenshin. Where is everything?”

  
Kenshin drew a deep breath, released it, and began telling Heinai what he could feel.

  
“Head’s up, chin’s up, shoulders are level but not stiff, stomach is firm, back is steady but not tight, thighs relaxed, eyes watching where I’m going, tension on both reins is balanced.”

  
“All sounds good, so let’s go ahead and . . .trrot on, Cloud! _Clk-clk!_ ”

  
Cloud knew his business, and picked up a nice steady trot between one hoofbeat and the next.

  
“Good job, Kenshin, you are right where you are supposed to be, keep it up—ah, ah, get back in balance, bring your head up—it’s your toes! Kenshin, pull your toes up and it will keep you from tilting. That’s it, that’s it keep those toes up and let your waist bend to accept the movement. You’ve got it, you’re sitting the trot!”

* * *

  
Cloud had been unsaddled, groomed, and awarded a hunk of carrot as a thank-you from a very pleased Kenshin. Said boy was still rattling on with happiness at his breakthough an hour later. He was currently gushing about how quickly Heinai had solved the mystery of the Tilting Rider.

  
“How did you figure that out so fast, Heinai? I mean, you’re still learning to ride, too, but it was just two or three circles on the lunge line and you zeroed right in on my problem.”

  
“Well, actually, it wasn’t just from watching you today, I had been noticing that you had a tendency to let your toes drop. Every time that happened, I could see it pushed your legs back and dropped your torso forward.”

  
“You had?” the redhead asked. “How come you didn’t say anything?”

  
“Well, I’m not sensei, and I didn’t want to speak out of turn—but today, you were obviously trying so hard, and feeling so discouraged, and I just couldn’t let you feel that way if I could help. So I just. . .sort of blurted out what I could see. I know it wasn’t my place, sorry, Kenshin-kun, sorry sensei.” the other boy trailed off.

  
“I’m glad you ah, _blurted_ ,” Kenshin said. “Sitting the trot was so frustrating.”

  
“You did not overstep, deshi,” Nakahara said, as he walked up and caught the tail end of the boys’ conversation.

“You exhibited honesty, loyalty, and compassion to your dojo brother. Yes, it was just a riding lesson, but if we learn to practice the virtures in small things, they will become a part of our character. They will thus come naturally to us in all circumstances, whether in deciding the course of a battle or helping a grandmother carry a bucket of tofu.

  
“Good job, both of you. Now what would you say to some berries and honey to mark such a successful lesson,” he added, clapping each of the boys on a shoulder. 

  
“Ah, eating berries with honey is something I know I can do,” the redhead exclaimed, getting a laugh from both of the others.

* * *

  
Kenshin’s thoughts slowly returned to the present and what Hiko was saying.

  
“A head strike is a head strike, Ken-ch'en, and sword control is sword control. There's nothing different between how the Kage Ryuu and Hiten Mitsurugi do it, so there’s no reason you can’t watch for the things Yahiko can’t see." 

  
“I understand what you mean, _Shishou_. Yahiko deserves a chance to earn his berries, too.”

  
Hiko blinked owlishly at the short redhead as Kenshin strode off in the direction of Yahiko’s practice.

  
“Here I thought not so many blisters on his sword-hand would be the goal,” he murmured to himself.

  
“I have no idea what berries have to do with a sword-grip.”

  
He paused a moment.

  
“No, I don’t want to know. However Kenshin’s brain works, it’s coming up with the right ideas.

  
“I’m not looking this gift horse in the mouth.”

_Owari_

**Author's Note:**

> So I cheated a little bit on Kenshin’s riding lessons: I don’t know for sure that Japanese horsemen of the Meiji lunged riders to teach them, but horsemen are pretty creative teachers, and I’m betting that Nakahara would’ve figured this out. It’s a pretty standard technique for all types of riding. A lunge line (soft g, like huge) is a 20-ft/8m rope attached to a horse’s halter or training headstall (cavesson). The horse is taught to circle the handler at the end of the rope, usually obeying both voice commands and hand or whip signals. Very useful for conditioning and teaching young or untrained horses, and also very good for teaching riders who don’t yet have the skill to maintain position and direct the horse.
> 
> =======================  
> GLOSSARY
> 
> Baka—idiot, dummy, stupid, fool  
> Deshi—pupil, apprentice, disciple  
> Engawa—Veranda of a house  
> Hai—Yes  
> Ich, ni, san—One, two, three  
> Ken ch’en—Hiko’s nickname for his pupil, playing on the boy’s name and the diminutive suffix -chan.  
> Owari—The end  
> Sama—most formal honorific suffix, used for God and royalty. Roughly “Your Majesty/Your Lordship/Your Highness.”  
> Sensei—someone who has mastered a field of knowledge. Used for teachers and doctors. May be used as an honorific for such persons.  
> Shihandai—In this context, “acting headmaster,” Kaoru’s position in Kamiya Kasshin Ryu.  
> Shinai—slotted bamboo practice sword  
> Shishou—master of an art or craft, who teaches  
> Yame—pronounced “Yah-meh.” What sensei yells when he wants you to stop what you’re doing immediately and freeze.


End file.
